Quaternary ammonium salts have excellent sterilizing power. They have been used for a variety of conventional purposes, including the sterilization and disinfection of buildings and environments, such as, for example, barns and food plants, and the antisepsis of wood. They have also been used for the sterilization of hands and fingers and for the sterilization of skin upon surgical operation.
Unfortunately, however, quaternary ammonium salts have a tendency to be highly irritable to the skin and have a tendency to cause hand chapping or eruption when used ordinarily. As a result, containing quaternary ammonium salts are limited in their concentration and range for ordinary everyday use. Therefore, they have not produced sufficiently effective results when used for the skin or the like.
With the intent of coping with such problems, a disinfectant antiseptic wherein the counter anion of a quaternary ammonium salt is variably changed and which produces reduced skin irritation is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 218605/1990.
However, these quaternary ammonium salts are not uniform in their effects, and consequently, stable effects cannot be obtained.
Therefore, there exists a demand for a germicide, preferably a germicide for the body, which produces reduced or little skin irritation, and has greater safety and excellent sterilizing power.